Disclaimer: I own nothing except the plot and any unrecognizable characters and dialogue.
Storybrooke
Seated at the breakfast table, Henry continued to ignore his mother's piercing stare as he calmly ate his eggs. She had his storybook out on the table and was leafing through it, lips pursed. Reaching out to take a sip of her coffee, she paused once she noticed that the last few pages of the book were torn out. While the book itself was clearly old, it didn't look it, and she was instantly suspicious.
"The missing pages – where are they?"
Henry paused, fork halfway to his mouth. "It's an old book." He evaded the question, not meeting his mother's cool gaze. "Stuff's missing. Why do you care?"
"I care because you think I'm some Evil Queen." Though "And that hurts me, Henry. I'm your mother."
"No, you're not." Henry denied with a mulish expression that reminded her of when he was a toddler.
"Well, then who is?" She challenged, brow arched. "That woman you brought here? I don't like what she and this book are doing to you." Snatching up the book, she tucked it under one arm. "Thankfully, both are no longer going to be an issue."
Turning his head to hide his scowl from his mother's searching gaze, Henry was once more arrested by the sight of the clock tower hands moving in the distance. Seeing his attention was elsewhere, Regina followed his gaze curiously.
"What?" Was all that left her lips before the clock began to chime, loudly enough that every person in Storybrooke heard it.
Taking advantage of his mother's sudden distraction, inwardly gloating over how unsettled she looked for a brief moment, Henry grabbed his backpack and dashed towards the door.
Lillian walked up the path to the Mills mansion, hoping that she wouldn't get involved in a fight between its occupants again. When she reached out to knock, her hand froze just before her knuckles touched the wood. At the distant chiming behind her, she turned to watch the clock move for the first time in twenty-eight years. A small, relieved smile flitted across her lips at the sight.
She spun back to face the door when it swung wide open. Henry, with a pleased, anxious expression, darted out of the house onto the porch with her. Taking one look at his face, Lillian peeked her head into the house.
"Regina, I'm walking Henry to school! We'll see you at five!" Satisfied she'd avoided the looming argument, Lillian slammed the door and herded Henry off the porch. "Quick! Go before she follows us - you know how determined she can be when she's on the warpath!"
Well aware she was right, Henry grabbed her hand and they ran down the walkway to the sidewalk. When they were several houses down the street, he finally released his vice grip on her fingers.
"So, what happened back there?" Lillian asked, looking at him strangely.
"We argued about the book; she wanted to know what happened to the final pages. Oh, and about Emma."
"Oh, right the Savior. Gold and I got to meet her last night." With a smile on her face, Lillian continued to walk long after Henry stopped in his tracks. When she was several feet away, she turned to see the biggest smile on his face. "Can I help you?"
"You remember!" His strangled cry of relief was all the warning she had. Crossing the distance between them, he all but plowed into her, nearly knocking them onto the pavement. "You really, really do! How?!"
"You," she replied, smiling at the confusion on his face. "You brought Emma here - she's already started changing things. But it was you, Henry."
His eyes widened at her words and she cupped his round, childish face with a loving smile. Personally, her head hadn't stopped aching since the inclusion of both her Cursed and real memories, but she wasn't about to tell him that. Gold was in a similar state, though he was self-medicating with copious amounts of expensive cognac last she'd checked.
"So," she began once Henry was detached from her side. Somehow, she doubted Regina would be too pleased to learn of the events that had transpired and therefore needed to swear Henry to secrecy. "I know you're happy about Gold and I remembering- "
He nodded so vigorously Lillian half-feared his head would fly off his neck. "Just wait until I tell Emma! This is great! We can go find her now and… " He moved to drag her, skidding to a stop when she pulled against him. "What is it?"
"Henry, telling Emma… might not be the best idea right now. I know that you want to break the Curse as quickly as possible," she shushed him with a finger when he opened his mouth to protest, "but Emma might not believe us. And we don't want it getting back to your mother."
Though he saw the sense in her words, Henry still pouted. Despite what he would have liked, his birth mother refused to believe and had been digging her heels since he showed up on her doorstep less than forty-eight hours ago. While he'd known that none of this would be easy, he was still disappointed by how slow-moving things appeared to be.
"But, how are we supposed to help her if she doesn't know that you remember being Cursed?"
Inwardly, Lillian sighed at the naivety Henry exuded. She loved the little boy more than life itself and had to remind herself that he was only a child. He didn't know how the world worked, and he definitely didn't need to be involved or privy to the manipulations that she and Gold had planned in the coming months.
"Well, we'll just have to convince her in the next few days that you're right - we won't outright say I remember, but if I believe in you, why wouldn't she start to?" Personally, Lillian had a feeling that it would take getting smacked in the face with proof before Emma started to acknowledge that something very wrong was going on in Storybrooke. Until then though, Lillian was happy to help Gold ensure that the blonde newcomer did exactly what she was supposed to.
Henry was nodding sagely to her words. "Brilliant!" He cheered, smiling so widely she half-feared he split his face in two. "After all, the Hero always doubts before they see the light!"
That said, he turned in the direction towards the center of town and began to drag her along. Arching a brow, she allowed herself to be dragged, though not before asking, "I thought we agreed you weren't skipping school again?"
"I'm not," he told her cheerfully over his shoulder.
"Right. Well, unless the town geography changed when Emma arrived, school is that way." She jabbed her thumb in the opposite direction.
His smile didn't even waver. "Yeah, but Emma is this way."
Sighing, Lillian gave in and settled at his side, hand clasped firmly in his own. While she was resolved to do whatever was needed, for Henry and for Gold, she personally hoped whatever was planned wouldn't cause too many problems.
Though, knowing Regina as she did, all hell would probably break loose before the day was up.
Enchanted Forest
When Lilith strode down the stairs to Rumple's prison, she wasn't sure how the guards would react. Her last visit - at least, the last visit anyone but she and Rumple were aware of - had been in the company of Snow and Charming. The guards had eyed her with distrust even then, so she wasn't expecting a warm welcome. To no one's surprise, the guards sprang into action upon seeing her.
"Stop right there!" The nearest guard, a burly man who towered well over Lilith, reached out to clamp a hand on her arm.
He never got the chance, as she flicked her hand in his direction. Shimmering, purple-hued magic enveloped him from head to toe, freezing him in place. The two other guards stopped at the sight. Sighing heavily, Lilith addressed them with a disarming, unsettling smile.
"Oh, do behave yourselves. I have permission to visit the Dark One from Princess Snow herself - and I don't give a damn what Prince Charming says." She and Charming had already gotten into several fights about her desire to visit her former Mentor and she was sick of being told what to do. "So, be good little guards and go back to your dice."
Bored of the terror in their eyes, she stalked past the stuttering guards. Absently, she twisted her fingers just so behind her, releasing the first guard from the spell. They didn't follow her, not that she was surprised to be honest. Even after missing for thirty years, her reputation proceeded her even in the company of goodie-two-shoes like Snow White.
"Rumple!" Lilith called, only partly relieved when she caught sight of him in the shadowed cage.
"Hello, dear Lilith!" He pressed his face against the bars, metal biting into scaly skin. There was no discomfort in his expression, only a solid kind of madness that she barely even registered. "What may I do for my lovely assistant?"
She quirked a brow at his playful words. "I do believe you know why, Rumple."
"Of course!" His smirk faded and sanity overtook his gleaming eyes for a brief moment. "However, I find myself in no mood for games, Lilith." He giggled at the sight of her wry disapproval, the sound so high-pitched it sounded like a child's laugh.
With a sigh, Lilith crossed her arms. "According to Snow White's little birds, Regina has gone to visit Maleficent." She paused, biting her lip in a sudden bought of uncertainty. "She's going to get it."
"Yes, yes, yes. Oh, yes she is!" Though his tone was manic, his eyes were not. "Maleficent holds the Dark Curse and that, is exactly what Regina desires."
Lilith resisted the urge to slam Rumple's face into the bars. She knew he was serious, deep down. She could feel the frenzied desire within him to make sure everything played out perfectly. She, to some extent, shared that desire and she was afraid that would change the longer she was with the Princess.
"Oh, Lilith," he cooed, reaching out a hand to trail scaled fingers across her cheek. The touch was chaste, almost paternal, and despite herself, she leaned into it. "You will be fine, my dear. Even with your humanity, you acknowledge that all of this," he gestured around them, "is necessary. You will do what needs to be done, have no fear."
His hand snaked around her face to wrap around her neck and he pulled her to him. Forehead pressed to his, Lilith closed her eyes as his magic swept over her. Flashes, brief and colorless, filled her mind. Whenever Rumple shared his gift of foresight with her, she always walked away with a searing headache. As the scenes faded, she was left with the struggle of putting them together, much like the pieces of a puzzle.
Sighing, she pulled back enough to look him in the eye. "I should know better than to question you, Rumple."
"Yes, dearie." His eyes gleamed. "You should."
Storybrooke
Henry and Lillian were seated in a hidden booth when Emma walked into the diner from the inn. The blonde clearly had tunnel-vision, as she didn't even look around the diner. Clearly, her boasts of being an extremely perceptive bail-bonds person were just empty words. Slumping down in her seat, Lillian watched as Ruby, who winked in their direction, handed over the hot cocoa Henry had ordered for his birth mother.
Pulling her attention from the newspaper, and swallowing the last bite of apple, Emma glanced down at the steam curling its way from the cup of cocoa. "Thank you." She said dryly, eyebrow arched in question when she looked up at Ruby. "But I did not order this?"
Ruby's smirk widened playfully. "Yeah, I know. You have an admirer."
Emma didn't reply, allowing Ruby to strut off to serve another customer. Casting her gaze around, unaware of her giggling son and his babysitter, the blonde's suspicious eyes landed on Graham. Grabbing hold of the cocoa, Emma stalked over to where the Sheriff was innocently reading the paper and sipping his coffee.
"Ah," Graham commented lightly when Emma practically slammed the cocoa onto his table, "so you decided to stay."
"Observant." She drawled, arms crossed defensively. "Important for a cop."
"It's good for our tourist business," he gestured to the front page article that included an wildly exaggerated account of Emma's run-in with the Storybrooke welcome sign. "Bad for our local signage. It's… it's a joke." He wilted beneath her flat, unimpressed expression. "It's because you ran over our sign…"
"Look, the cocoa was a nice gesture," Emma began, scowl firmly in place, "and I am impressed that you guessed that I like cinnamon on my chocolate because most people don't but I am not here to flirt. So thank you, but no thank you."
Graham merely arched a brow at her flat, no nonsense refusal. "I didn't send it." He told her quietly, completely derailing her assumption.
Henry, moving faster that Lillian thought him capable, was out of his seat and across the diner. "I did." He told the nonplussed blonde, who whirled around at his voice. He smiled brightly up at her, never taking his eyes off her, even when Lillian joined him. "I like cinnamon too."
"Don't you have school?" Emma managed after gaping down at the smug little boy for several heartbeats.
"Duh," Henry retorted, adjusting the straps on his backpack. "I'm ten. Walk me?" He grinned sunnily up at his birth mother, ignoring Lillian's half-stifled chuckle.
Glancing at the babysitter, Emma arched a brow, attempting to regain some control in the situation at hand. "Uh, isn't that her job?"
Refusing to acknowledge the blonde's silent plea, Lillian chose not to help her out. "Oh, it's more of punishment, really." She drawled, ignoring Henry's deeply offended expression. "But by all means, tag along."
With that, she turned and headed for the door, leaving the mother/son pair behind. With a shrug, Henry grabbed hold of Emma's limp wrist and tugged her along. Neither noticed the weary expression Graham wore, or the warning look Lillian sent him over her shoulder. Both knew Regina was going to give them hell for letting Emma anywhere near Henry.
They were across the street and halfway down Main before Emma was unable to stop herself from asking her... her son... about his tyrant-like mother. "So, what's the deal with you and your mom?" She asked, wincing the instant the words left her lips.
In true Henry fashion, the little boy deflected the loaded question. "It's not about us, it's about her Curse." He began, and Lillian winced at the clear signs of a long-winded explanation. She gave a the pawn shop a wishful stare, but quickly decided against it. Regina was likely to kill her if she let Henry be alone with Emma.
"We have to break the Curse." Henry was saying to Emma, blissfully unaware of her clear exasperation. "Luckily, I have a plan. Step one: Identification." With a smirk on his suddenly too innocent features, he said proudly, "I call it, Operation: Cobra."
"Cobra?" Emma repeated dryly, eyes dancing between Henry's smugness, and Lillian's amused fondness. "That has nothing to do with fairy tales."
"He reads too many comic books." Lillian offered with an absentminded wave of her hand.
Tossing her a sullen pout, Henry returned his attention to Emma. "Exactly. It's a code name to throw the Queen off the trail."
Struggling to keep up with his claims, Emma clarified, "So, everyone here is a fairy tale character? They just don't know it?"
"That's the Curse at work." Henry nodded sagely, this time clearly ignoring the doubt etched clear as day on Emma's face. "Time's been frozen until you got here."
"I will say," Lillian chimed in, jerking her head in the direction of the now working clock in the center of town. "That that clock hasn't worked for as long as anyone can remember."
Sighing heavily, Emma reached into her coat pocket and produced one of the apples Regina gifted her that morning. To her disbelief, both Henry and Lillian reacted with alarm at the sight of the bright red fruit.
"Hey, where'd you get that?!" Henry demanded, stopping Emma before she could take a bite.
Arching a brow, Emma lowered it from her lips. "From your mom?"
Before she could react, Henry had hold of the apple and was throwing it behind them as far as it could go. Head twisting to watch her breakfast bounce down the street, she caught sight of Lillian's wide, almost frightened expression. The teen's face quickly smoothed in to one of indifference once she realized Emma was watching.
Struggling to think of what to say after that, Emma followed when Henry resumed their walk down the street. "O-okay…" Shaking her head to clear her thoughts, she pushed the incident aside and continued asking questions. "Uh, all right. What about their pasts?"
"They don't know anything." Henry said, acting as if nothing had happened. "It's a haze to them. Ask anyone anything about it, and you'll see."
Nodding at his words, Emma turned to meet Lillian's gaze and raised a brow. "Do you?"
"I don't remember anything before Storybrooke." Lillian lied flawlessly, though it wasn't really a lie. Thanks to the little loophole Gold had placed in the Curse, she now remembered two sets of memories.
Giving a jerky nod of her head, Emma attempted to process the new information. "So, for decades, people have been walking round here, not aging, with screwed up memories, stuck in a cursed town that keeps them oblivious. Did I miss anything?"
"I knew you'd understand!" Henry cheered at her deadpan tone. "That's why we need you; you're the only one who can stop the Curse."
Expression pained, Emma asked, "Because I'm the daughter of Snow White and Prince Charming?"
"Yes!" Henry chirped in triumph, more than excited that she had caught on so quick. "And right now, we have the advantage." Digging into his backpack, he produced the last few pages of his storybook, ripped off just that morning before his mother took it. "My mom doesn't know that I took out the end," he handed them off to Emma, who handled them with a wary expression. "The part that has you in it."
Gazing down at the page, Emma examined the painted figures critically. While the figure cradling the baby had dark hair and pale skin, that was where the similarities to Mary Margaret ended. What caught her attention, and sent her pulse skyrocketing, was the sight of the name sewn into the folds of the swaddling blanket. Unaware of Lillian's perusal of the page, she didn't see the sadness filling her eyes at the sight of Snow White.
"See," Henry peered up at his mother's face, then back down to the illustration. "Your mom is Snow White."
"Oh, kid," Emma shook her head, face twisted in a kind of aching pain.
"I know the hero never believes at first, if they did it wouldn't be a very good story." Henry began with a deep conviction that took Emma aback. Before he could continue, the bell rang, startling them all. With a resigned sigh, Lillian prodded him along, refusing to let him be late again. "If you need proof, take them." Henry all but shoved the pages into Emma's hands. "But, whatever you do, do not let her see the papers. They're dangerous. I gotta go, but I'll find you later - we can get started then!"
With that, he let Lillian lead him into the school building, pausing only once to wave cheerfully at the blonde. "I knew you would believe me!" He called to her.
"I never said I did!" Emma replied, returning the gesture weakly.
"Why else would you be here?" With that, Henry darted towards the school, passing Mary Margaret on his way.
As she joined Emma Swan, Mary Margaret turned to watch Henry and Lillian enter the building, all too aware of the wide smile on her student's lips. "It's good to see his smile back." The teacher mused, smiling gently at the bewildered blonde.
"I didn't even do anything." Emma said, carefully folding the torn pages and placing them in her coat.
"You stayed." Mary Margaret told her, smile fading as she realized what the possible fallout of Emma staying could be. "So, does the Mayor know you're here?"
Emma's nose wrinkled and her arms crossed defensively. "Oh, she knows. What's her deal, anyway? She's not exactly a great people person, so how'd she get elected?"
Face screwed up in thought, unable to remember a time when Regina Mills wasn't the mayor, Mary Margaret shrugged helplessly. "She's been mayor for as long as I - as long as anyone - can remember. No one's ever been brave enough to run against her. She inspires quite a bit of, well, fear." Shaking her head, she wore a concerned, guilty look. "I'm afraid I only made that worse by giving Henry that book. Now he thinks she'd the Evil Queen."
Unable to stop herself, Emma asked, "Who does he think you are?"
A delicate, embarrassed flush rose to the apples of Mary Margaret's cheeks. "Oh, it's silly." She demurred, wearing a fond smile all the same.
"I just got five minutes of silly." Emma deadpanned. "Lay it on me."
"Snow White." Mary Margaret admitted in a hushed whisper, unaware of the sudden distress her answer caused Emma. "Who does he think you are?"
"I-I'm not in the book." Emma managed in reply, sudden panic trying to claw its way up her throat. "Can I ask you a favor?" Swiftly changing the subject, she was relieved when Mary Margaret nodded helpfully. "Regina mentioned the kid's in therapy. Do you know where I can find the doctor?"
"I can take her." Lillian reappeared behind Mary Margaret, causing both women to jump out of their skin.
Hand pressed to her erratically beating heart, the teacher scowled down at the teenager. "Lillian Piper Gold! What have I told you about scaring people like that?"
"To not to?" Lillian asked, wearing an innocent expression that was at odds with the mischief dancing in her eyes. Smiling in contrition, she added, "I'm very, very sorry Ms. Blanchard."
Shaking her head at the young woman's behavior, Mary Margaret turned apologetically to Emma. "I've got to get to class." She gestured to Lillian, who watched them idly. "But, Lillian will show you the way to Dr. Hoppers office, won't you Lillian?"
Waiting until the dark-haired teen nodded, Mary Margaret muttered a goodbye to the mismatched pair and hurried off to the school. Watching as she disappeared behind the large doors, Lillian slowly turned to find Emma staring at her.
"What?"
"Nothing." Emma shook her head. "So, where'd you say this doctor is?"
"I didn't." Lillian retorted, striding back towards Main Street. "But his office is this way. Come on, I have to be at work in fifteen minutes."
Realizing she has little choice but to follow along, Emma caught up to the quiet teenager. "I thought babysitting Henry was your job?"
"Punishment." Lillian returned with a sly smile. "Regina was entirely too offended that I could get Henry to quiet down better than her when he was a baby, so she demanded I help her watch him. I even have a room at the Mayor's illustrious mansion."
Finding several holes in the story, Emma arched a brow. "How old are you again?"
"Hmm, about seventeen."
"And Henry is ten?"
"Yup."
"Then wouldn't you have been around seven when Regina adopted Henry?"
"Hmm."
The unimpressed look Lillian threw her way sent Emma's heart sinking. Without another word spoken between them, Lillian showed her where Archie's office was located before abandoning the blonde interloper on the sidewalk. Crossing the street, when she reached the door to the shop, Lillian turned to see Emma violently shaking her head as she climbed the stairs to Archie's office. Rolling her eyes, Lillian strode into the pawn shop in time to see Gold on a step ladder, rifling through the shelves.
"You're late." He called without bothering to turn around.
"I was held up by our illustrious Savior." She retorted, leaning against the doorjamb and watching as he produced an ugly, heavy looking vase from the cupboard. "Also, what did I say about lifting such heavy things?" Crossing the room, she reached up and plucked the vase from his hands without so much as a 'please'. Twisting, she placed it on the counter and wrinkled her nose at the mulish expression he wore. "Oh, stop it. You shouldn't even be on that thing with your leg."
He ignored her valid concerns. "So, how is our dear Savior this morning? Still denying the inevitable?"
"You have no idea." She groaned, unwinding her scarf from her neck before she hung it, and her coat, on the nearest hook. "Blasted woman wouldn't believe in dragons even if she was face to face with one. What were you doing in there, anyway?" She bent her head in the direction of the cupboard. "You better not have made a mess; I just organized that yesterday."
"Oh, just looking for something." Gold replied lightly as he carefully made his way down the ladder. Reaching into his vest pocket, he held out his fist to her. At her expectant look, he opened his hand to reveal a silver chain sitting in his palm. "I do believe this is yours, Lillian."
Eyes wide, she reached out to take the delicate chain, examining it carefully. The chain had been broken in two places, but the silver hadn't dulled and the acorn charm was still there. "It'll need to be fixed," she commented, trying very hard to remain casual in the face of such an important part of her past. Gold didn't know the whole story behind the necklace, and she wanted to keep it that way. "Rumple..."
He smiled softly. "I know how important it was to you." Reaching out, he covered her hand with one of his own. "It was my fault you lost it, after all."
"Thank you, Gold."
Enchanted Forest
Despite her affiliation with Snow White, Lilith was still able to ferret out from her contacts from the darker aspects of life, and she was rather amused when a small, rather frighting looking gnome, spat through gnarled teeth that Regina had tried and failed miserably to cast the Dark Curse. Banishing the horrid creature with a flick of her fingers, she teleported herself back to Snow White's castle.
"Lilith," Charming was on her before the purple smoke had even cleared, and the anxiety coming off him was enough to make Lilith sick to her stomach. "What news?"
"Regina has cast the Dark Curse." She announced blandly, lips twitching when the table erupted into chaos that was just as quickly dispelled when she added in a pointed tone, "But! She failed, quite miserably, I might add."
Hand on the swell of her belly, Snow brightened slightly. "She failed? Does that mean… is it over?"
"No." Though Lilith hated to dash the sweet, if still a bit naive, princess' hopes, she needed to be honest right now. Everyone needed to be prepared for what was coming. "No, Regina will try again, and again. As many times as she has to, until she gets it right."
"How does one go about casting this Dark Curse?" Ruby ventured to ask, fidgeting with the edges of her red hood when Lilith turned to her. Though she rather liked the younger woman, Ruby had to admit that having her attention focused solely on you was somewhat unnerving.
"There are a few steps, but the only true way to cast the Dark Curse is to sacrifice the heart of the thing the caster loves most." Revulsion and horror met her words, and Lilith had to tamp down her own visceral reaction to the Curse Rumple had procured. Though he claimed to have created it, Lilith knew he had stolen it from the lair of the Chernabog. "That is the only way Regina can fulfill the requirements of the Curse."
Charming was the first to break the heavy silence. "Who could that wretched woman possibly love?"
Snow's already pale skin took on a sickly, grayish hue so rapidly Lilith was half-afraid she would faint. "I think I know."
Storybrooke
Lost in the tedium of her work, Lillian was virtually unaware of the passage of time. Gold had been taking inventory of the shop, separating what was truly magical from the mundane items associated with pawn shops in this realm. So far, they had collected a fairly large stack of tomes and trinkets that Lillian recognized from their personal libraries in Rumpelstiltskin's castle.
Trailing her fingers over a silver necklace, Lillian waited to feel the faint thrum of magical energy, only to be distracted when the front door nearly flew off its hinges. Whirling around, she only just caught sight of Henry's frantic face before he threw himself at her. "Henry!"
"Lillian!" Arms wrapped tightly around her waist, Henry peered up at her, eyes wide with terror. "Lillian, we need your help!"
Struggling to breath from the death grip he had on her, Lillian went limp when Ms. Blanchard appeared behind them and carefully pried Henry off of her. "With what, Henry? And why is Ms. Blanchard here, exactly?" Rubbing at her midsection, she shot the teacher a curious glance. "I know I was late picking you up but-"
"Emma's in prison!" Henry exploded, as if he could no longer physically contain himself. "They accused her of stealing from Archie, but I know she's innocent! We need you to help us get her out of prison."
Prying off his little arms, Lillian shot Mary Margaret a grateful smile when the teacher made sure Henry wouldn't launch himself at Lillian again. "Henry, please warn me next time before you try and crack my ribs. Now, what's this about Emma in prison?"
"Dr. Hopper has accused Emma of stealing his records." Mary Margaret supplied with a troubled expression. There was a little bit of guilt lurking in her gaze, as if she blamed herself for pointing the newcomer in the direction of Archie's office. "I know we haven't known her long, but Emma Swan doesn't strike me as a thief."
"I'm sensing there is an unseen puppet master behind such an accusation." And, by the looks on their faces, the duo before her knew it too. It was a common secret within Storybrooke that Regina had the power to practically summon evidence with a flick of her fingers. While that might have been true, proving that the Mayor had a hand in Emma's situation was next to impossible. "So, what's our next move?"
Emma was getting her mugshots when Lillian, Mary Margaret and Henry stormed into the station. The blonde was glaring at nothing, mouthing off to the clearly amused Sheriff.
"Hey!" Henry shouted, saved from colliding with a desk only by Lillian reaching out and hooking a hand on his backpack.
Graham reacted first. "Henry!" He moved to stop the little boy from coming any closer. "Henry, what are you doing here?"
"His mother told him what happened." Mary Margaret informed the bearded Sheriff coldly, disapproval radiating off her in waves. Whatever issues their mayor had with the birth mother of her son, involving Henry in their contest of wills was unfair and, in her opinion, cruel.
Emma rolled her eyes, while Graham blanched in the face of the demure teacher's glare. "Of course she did," focusing on her son, Emma tried to explain, "Henry, I don't know what she said -"
"You're a genius."
Four pairs of eyes settled on the little boy, each as bewildered as the next.
Emma struggled to find her voice. "What?"
"I know what you were up to." Henry continued, still grinning ear to ear, "You were gathering intel for Operation: Cobra."
Graham looked between the pair, brow creased in confusion. "I'm sorry. I'm a bit lost."
"It's need to know, Sheriff." Henry calmly told the man, who blinked in shock at the little boy's cheek. Behind him, Lillian beamed in pride. "And all you need to know is that Miss Blanchard's going to bail her out."
Emma swung to face the suddenly sheepish teacher. "You are? Why?"
"I, uh, trust you." Mary Margaret told her quietly, though with a conviction that seemed to surprise even her.
Emma stared at her for a moment, quickly deciding to go with it. "Well, if you can un-cuff me," she offered her cuffed hands to Graham, who was still processing the whole situation. "I have something to do."
Enchanted Forest
Having been summoned by Rumple in the dead of night, Lilith wasn't in the best of moods. Standing with her back to Rumple's cage, she crossed her arms and waited. Since her disastrous failure during her attempt to cast the Dark Curse, it was more than likely that Regina was going to confront her former teacher.
Leaning his face against the bars, Rumple grinned madly. "It's just us, dearie! You can show yourself now."
One of the mice that scurried along the floor was enveloped in black smoke. It cleared to reveal Regina, dressed lavishly in black, wearing a thunderous expression that would have sent a lesser man running. Cracking her neck audibly, the Evil Queen sighed in disgust before turning to face the Dark One and his assistant.
"That Curse you gave me… it's not working." She drawled, decidedly displeased by her failure.
"Oh, so worried. So, so worried," Rumple trilled, grinning ear to ear before lowering his voice to a stage-whisper. "Like Snow and her lovely, new husband.
Regina's face became like stone at the mention of the newlyweds. "What?"
"They paid me a visit as well." He cooed. "They were very anxious about you and the Curse."
"And what did you tell them?" Regina hissed her demand, stalking closer to the cage, tossing Lilith a scowl as she did.
"The truth." Rumple said simply, offended she would think otherwise. "That nothing can stop the darkness… except, of course, their unborn child."
Lilith smirked at the thought that a mere child, unborn at that, had the potential to thwart Regina's grand plans for revenge. The expression caught Regina's attention, and she glowered angrily at the young woman. "What's so funny, my dear?"
"Oh, just thinking about the irony of it all." Lilith returned, batting her lashes innocently. "That one little babe could end up breaking the Curse to end all Curses."
"Of course," Rumple added lightly, though Regina bristled at the belittling way he said it. "The Curse has to be enacted first."
Regina focused solely on Rumple, his little assistant forgotten. "Tell me what I did wrong."
"For that, there's a price."
Regina agreed easily to the demand, used to his deals after all their shared history. "What do you want?"
"Simple. In this new world, I want comfort. I want a good life." His gaze sharpened, the madness receding for the moment. "For myself, and for my dear Lilith. You will not separate my ward from me."
"Fine." The Evil Queen snapped, thinking it was a small price to pay for her revenge. "She will remain your ward. You'll have an estate, be rich -"
"I wasn't finished!" Rumple snarled, gripping the bars of his cell tightly. "There's more."
Regina managed a sneer for him. "There always is with you."
"In this new land," he giggled, "should I ever come to you for any reason, you must heed my every request." Both women before him wore matching incredulous expressions at this stipulation. "You must do whatever I say! So long as I say… please!"
Regina sneered at him, though her expression was resigned. "There always is something with you. You do realize that should I succeed, you won't remember any of this?" Regina reminded him sharply. "Either of you?"
"Oh, well then… where's the harm?" Rumple titled his head with a mad little smile.
"Deal." Regina answered, a smirk growing on her painted lips. She ignored the way he all but preened at how easily she'd agreed. She'd ponder the ramifications of making yet another deal with Rumple later. "What must I do to enact this Curse?"
"You need to sacrifice a heart." He gestured to his chest with one hand, gripping the bars of the cage with the other.
"I sacrificed the heart of my prized steed."
Even Lilith was unprepared for Rumple's violent reaction to Regina's response. He lunged at the bars with a grunt, pulling himself up them so his face hovered over Regina's. He grabbed her chin, forcing her to awkwardly tilt her head at a sharp angle to meet his eye. "A horse?! This is the Curse to end all Curses and you think a horse is gonna do?! Great power, requires great sacrifice." He hissed. "The heart must come from something far more precious."
Refusing to react to his manhandling of her person, Regina stared him down. "Tell me what will suffice."
"The heart of the thing you love most."
Face bone-white and lips trembling, Regina uttered, "What I loved most died because of Snow White."
At that, Lilith resisted the urge to scoff. By now, most knew about the story behind the enmity between Snow White and the Evil Queen. Most thought it a fairly ridiculous reason, though few were brave enough to say so. Having heard Snow's side of the story, having felt the guilt the older woman still carried with her after over a decade, Lilith thought Regina's continuing hatred was bordering on ridiculous.
"Oh…" Rumple cooed, "Is there no one else you twuly love?" His grin widened when Regina's eyes did the same. "This Curse isn't gonna be easy. Vengeance never is, dearie."
"You have to ask yourself a simple question, majesty," Lilith began quietly, her eyes now that sickly shade of red that reminded Regina of blood. "How far are you willing to go for vengeance?"
To her credit, Regina's voice was steady. "As far as it takes."
"Then stop wasting everyone's time and just do it." Rumple spat out, tired of this back and forth. "You know what you love. Now go kill it!"
Storybrooke
Side by side, Henry and Lillian climbed the winding stairs to Regina's office. Arm around his shoulders, Lillian squeezed him in an effort to offer some comfort. Things had been topsy-turvy since Emma's arrival, and she knew Henry had felt the brunt of his mother's displeasure. Sometimes, Lillian could rationalize that Regina wasn't the worst mother in the world, and other times she wanted to throttle the mayor's neck for the way she treated her own son.
"So… wanna go back to Granny's and skip the torture session?" Henry said, trying to wheedle his way out of spending time with his mother. While he usually didn't mind going to dinner with her, after the last few days spending time one on one with his mother was the last thing he wanted to do. "Come on, Lillian."
"I refuse to give in to your demands," she sniffed imperiously, ruffling his hair when he frowned at her. "Besides, spending time with Regina is not torture. It's… constructive. At least according to Archie."
They were at the top of the stairs then, and the door to Regina's office was wide open, allowing them to look inside. Henry's retort died on his lips at the sight of his birth mother on his mom's couch, turned halfway towards the door. The two women were in conversation, and Henry couldn't believe what came out of Emma's mouth.
"How can I? The poor kid can't tell fantasy from reality and it's only getting worse. It's crazy."
"You think I'm crazy?!" Henry's voice was a strangled whisper that, despite her resolve, was like a dagger to Regina's heart.
As Emma Swan whirled from where she leaned against the arm of the couch, Regina fixed her gaze on the blonde, refusing to look at her son or Lillian. The teenager's eyes first bore a hole into the side of Emma's head before they settled on Regina, though Lillian quickly followed Henry when he fled from the room.
"Henry..." Watching as her son and his babysitter left the office, Emma turned to face Regina. "How long was he there?" She asked quietly, lips pressed into a thin line.
Regina reclined on her office chair as if it was a throne, lips quirked in a smug manner. "Long enough."
"You knew he'd be here."
"Did I know that Lillian brings my son to my office every Thursday at precisely 5:00pm so I can take him to dinner before his therapy session?" She allowed the rhetorical question to hang in the air before answering, "Of course I did. I'm his mother." Leaning forward ever so slightly, she threw the taunt Emma had thrown her way after she took a chainsaw to Regina's prized apple tree. "Your move."
Outside on the sidewalk, Lillian stalked after Henry, silently raging to herself. He'd shied from her touch when she'd tried to hold him so, deciding to let him be, she hung back several paces. Eventually, he slowly came to a stop, tears streaming silently down his pale face. Shoulders trembling, he turned to face Lillian, who opened her arms in silent invitation.
"She thinks I'm crazy," Henry moaned into her coat, rubbing his face against the fabric in misery that the woman he had begin to idolize before he'd ever laid eyes on her thought he was insane. "Lillian..."
"Shh," she whispered, stroking his hair. He was likely covering the front of her coat with his snot, but she didn't care. He was hurting and, unlike everyone else in his life, she refused to be yet another person to cause him further pain. "Shh, Henry. You are not crazy, do you understand me?" She drew back to cup his face, wiping the tears from his face with tender care. "Anyone who says so will have to deal with me."
Sniffling, he managed a nod before he burrowed back within her embrace. Resting her cheek on the top of his head, Lillian narrowed her eyes when she caught sight of Emma Swan leaving the Mayor's office. Savior or not, the older woman was in for a world of pain if she continued to fail Henry the way she was.
Refusing to take him back to his mother for dinner, Lillian instead herded him in the direction of the Inn. Granny, after seeing Henry's tear-stained face, looked the other way when Lillian made a brief stop at the diner kitchen to scrounge up some kind of meal. While her room at the Inn was where Regina would likely look first to collect her son, she thankfully possessed enough sense to leave the pair be for the evening.
When she dropped him off at his therapy session, Henry surprised her by quietly begging her to stay. It wasn't the first time she'd sat in on one of his sessions - Archie claimed her presence soothed Henry - and she didn't have the heart to refuse him. Seated on one of the armchairs opposite Henry, back aching, Lillian questioned the necessity of the current therapy session. For the past hour and a half, Henry had sat silently on the couch, expression blank and eyes unseeing, as Archie tried unsuccessfully to get him to open up about the last week.
"Are you sure you don't wanna talk about it?" Archie pressed gently, leaning back into his chair in defeat when Henry didn't respond, only continued to fidget with Archie's customary umbrella. Watching the boy for a moment, he changed topics. "You know, that umbrella is kind of my good luck charm. Is that why you think I'm Jiminy Cricket?"
"I don't think you're anyone." Henry muttered with a deep sigh, setting the umbrella onto the coffee table and sinking into the couch cushions.
Watching him all but curl into himself, Lillian opened her mouth to ask Archie to cut the session short, when the door slammed open. Whipping their heads around, both Archie and Lillian watched in surprise as Emma Swan stormed into the office. Rising from his seat, Arching attempted to head off the clearly upset woman.
"Miss Swan! Look, I can explain... the mayor forced me -" He stuttered, clearly wracked with guilt over the part he had unwillingly played in getting the blonde woman arrested.
"I know." Emma threw up her hand to forstal any more bumbling apologies. "Don't worry, I get it." Turning her attention to Henry, she frowned at the sight of him all but burrowing into the couch. "Henry, I'm sorry."
He didn't even look up. "I don't wanna talk to you. Go away."
"Maybe you should listen to him." Lillian remarked sharply, arms crossed and eyes narrowed. "If Regina knew you were here -"
"To hell with her!" Emma snapped, some of her previous fire returning. Somewhat taken aback, Lillian did nothing but raise a brow as the blonde turned back to Henry. "Henry, there is one simple reason I'm here - you. I wanted to get to know you."
"You think I'm crazy."
"No. I think the Curse is crazy, and it is." Inhaling deeply, she knelt before her son. "But that doesn't mean it isn't true. It's a lot to ask anyone to believe in -"
"I believe in him." Lillian told her quietly, glancing to see Henry perk up a little bit.
Emma took in the confidence in Lillian's words and nodded. "There are a lot of crazy things in this world. So, what do I know?" She shrugged one shoulder a little helplessly. "Maybe it is true. If Lillian supports you, maybe I can too."
Henry glanced at her from beneath his eyelashes. "But, you told my mom -"
"What she needed to hear." Emma finished, making him peer up at her in wonder. "What I do know, is that if the Curse is real... the only way to break it is by tricking the Evil QUeen into thinking we are non-believers." Hoping Lillian would help her out, she side-eyed the teen helplessly before continuing. "'Cause that way, she's not onto us. Isn't that what Operation: Cobra is all about? To throw her off the trail?"
Although thrown by the turn their session had taken, Archie watched the scene unfold with a small smile as the pair began to warm to one another. While Mayor Mills was, in her own way, a doting, if not somewhat controlling mother, it was clear Miss Swan was more interested in getting to know Henry than control him. Lillian eyed them warily, wondering how bad it would turn out if Emma Swan was lying to Henry.
Sitting on the edge of his seat, Henry made eye contact with Emma and his lips twisted into a breathtaking smile. "Brilliant!"
"I read the pages," Emma pulled the last few pages Henry had torn from the book out of her coat. "And Henry, you're right. They are dangerous." She stood and made her way to the fire Archie always insisted on having whenever he had a patient. "There is only one way to make sure that she never sees them." Without warning, Emma promptly threw the torn pages into the fire and turned back to her wide-eyed son. "Now, we have the advantage."
Practically leaping from his seated position, Henry was across the room at her side in an instant. Arms locked around her waist, he whispered, "I knew you were here to help me."
Returning the embrace, Emma rested her cheek against the top of his head. "That's right, kid. I am." Pulling away to smile down at him, she added, "And nothing, not even a Curse, is gonna stop that."
Watching as the pair hugged, Lillian was somewhat touched by the sight. While she wasn't too certain she believed Emma Swan's change of heart, it wouldn't matter in the long run... at least in terms of the Curse. The mere presence of the Savior would cause the Curse to weaken and, when the time came, Lillian was confident that she and Gold would find a way to convince Emma to take the final step to break it.
It was Henry, and the impact of Emma Swan on his life, that worried her. With Henry so pleased that Emma had come around, Lillian knew he wouldn't be prepared when the other shoe eventually dropped. There was little to do, other than be prepared for the breaking of the Curse, and to be there for Henry if/when Emma broke his heart. Forcing herself to smile when Henry bounded out of Emma's arms to her side, Lillian met the blonde woman's gaze over the top of Henry's dark head.
Though she gave no outward reaction, Emma swallowed thickly at the warning held within the deep blue of Lillian's gaze. Sensing the teenager had no real love for the way Regina treated Henry, Emma hoped Lillian would be an ally in the days to come and she strong-armed her way into her son's life.
Giving Emma a solemn nod, Lillian returned her attention to Henry as he began to lay out their future plans for Operation: Cobra. While she knew everything was falling into place, Lillian couldn't help the feeling of unease that rose up within her. Determined to see what she and Gold had started through, she dismissed the feeling as best she could, letting Henry pull her from the office with a quick goodbye said to Archie.
Lillian knew one thing for sure: Emma Swan was staying, and life was about to get very interesting.
Thoughts? Comments? Questions?
Revised: 03/24/20